We stain and paint garden fences, posts and gates for homes in Ecton Brook, about 4.1 miles east of Northampton town centre. Many boundaries here back onto Ecton Brook Linear Park or the footpath corridors, so cleaning and a biocide wash come before any finish.
Gardens that back onto the brook
The estate takes its name from the brook that runs through it, and the brook sits inside Ecton Brook Linear Park, a green corridor with trees along both sides. Back gardens that finish at that corridor, or at one of the paths such as the Ridgewalk and Three Mile Walk that cross the estate, get shade for much of the day, leaf litter, and a damp edge that does not dry out quickly after rain.
Timber in those conditions goes green on the shaded face, and sometimes grows moss along the bottom rail and gravel boards. Stain applied over that growth simply sits on top and peels or blotches. A fence on a sunny boundary might just need a brush-down; one beside the linear park needs proper treatment first.
How we prepare a shaded fence here
- Brush off loose dirt, cobwebs and leaf debris, and clear soil or leaves banked up against the gravel boards.
- Apply a biocide wash to the algae and moss, and leave it to work rather than scrubbing straight away.
- Brush off the dead growth once it has done its job.
- Give the timber time to dry, which on a shaded boundary can take longer than you would expect.
- Check posts at ground level and any loose or split boards before staining. Where a post has rotted at the base or panels have come off their rails, that is a job for a fencer before we finish it, and we will point it out rather than stain over it.
Only then does the stain or fence paint go on, brushed into the grain. We cover the choice between a translucent stain and an opaque paint, and the care needed with new pressure-treated timber, on our main fence and gate staining page.
Bigger plots on the detached roads
The detached and link-detached houses on Riverwell, Parkside, Raisins Field Close, Sheerwater Drive and Ecton Park Road have larger gardens than the terraces in the squares. More garden means more timber: longer side and back fence runs, side gates to the drive and sometimes a timber garage door as well. On these jobs it is worth doing the lot in one visit so the colours match and the gate does not end up a shade lighter than the fence it hangs from.
Access on these roads is easier, with driveways for kit and no long carry. On the pedestrian squares, by contrast, the stain, brushes and sheets come in on foot from shared parking, and drips have to be kept off the shared paths and neighbours’ panels.
Shared boundaries in the squares
In the terraces around squares like Foxendale, Normead and Horsemoor, a back fence is often shared with a neighbour, or runs along a path that everyone sees. Before staining one side of a shared fence, it helps to agree the colour with whoever lives on the other side, as stain can creep through gaps in lap panels. We stain only your face and protect the far side where we can reach it.
Colour is not controlled by any conservation rules here, so it is down to you. Dark browns and greens tend to sit quietly against the planting of the linear park, while lighter greys show green growth sooner on shaded runs. You can see the other work we cover in the area on our Ecton Brook page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
